Parkwood Resident's Association

Next Meeting:
Monday, March 19 at 7:30
Kensington Parkwood Elementary School

PRA Meeting to Feature Naval Medical Center Expansion Update

You may have been following the news in the Post and Gazette about the National Naval Medical Center expansion plans, in which Walter Reed Hospital operations will be relocated to the Medical Center’s main campus on Wisconsin just south of Cedar Lane. Part of the Base Realignment and Closure law (BRAC), this plan may result in as many as 2,500 more personnel working at this campus. The following summary is from the National Naval Medical Center’s website:

“The enhanced facility will be staffed by personnel from the Navy, Army and Air Force. The existing Walter Reed main installation is mandated to close by 2011 according to the BRAC law.

Specific changes at the realigned Bethesda campus will likely include construction and renovation of approximately 800,000 square feet of clinical space to support BRAC-mandated actions. Additional alterations and construction of support facilities are also being planned and considered. Exact square footage of all new and renovated facilities will be determined during the Environmental Impact Statement process.

Approximately 1,000 additional personnel from the Army and Air Force will join the staff at WRNMMC to support the BRAC-mandated changes. In addition, depending on the final decisions made at the end of the Environmental Impact Statement process, as many as 1,500 additional personnel could join the campus workforce. Those employees would work at supporting facilities such as barracks housing and the Navy Lodge.”

The PRA will invite representatives, either from the Navy or Congress, to update us on plans and discuss its potential impact on our neighborhood. While it is too late for any official public comment (comment period closed February 3), we want to be as informed as we can be about these plans which likely will have a significant impact on local traffic.

Last summer, after some discussion of the issue of incorporating Parkwood into a municipality on the PRA listserve, the PRA invited Tom Reynolds, Manager of Research and Information for the Maryland Municipal League, to our September meeting to give an overview of the pros and cons of a neighborhood becoming a municipality. The large turnout of residents at the meeting seemed to indicate a high level of interest in the issue. Mr. Reynolds gave us abundant information about municipalities, and handed out a pamphlet. There was lively discussion from those present. Since the number of people who attend the PRA meetings represents only a portion of the neighborhood, as does the listserve, the PRA decided to include a questionnaire on the subject with the December newsletter that goes to all residents to get a sense of how the whole neighborhood feels about the issue.

The number of questionnaires returned was disappointingly small, while the vehemence of the opinions was surprisingly strong. Some residents seem to have the idea that the issue was being foisted on them because the PRA was trying to change the nature of our neighborhood. Please be assured that this is not the case. The questionnaire was designed to collect your opinions, and the results were as follows:

There were five choices (1) setting up Parkwood as a municipality (2) working with Kensington Estates, West Howard Ave to create a municipality (3) having Parkwood annexed by a current municipality (4) setting up a home owners association and (5) doing none of the above.
Total replies received: 35Replies voting for option 5: 33Replies voting for option 2: 1 (merge with Town of Kensington)Replies voting for option 1: 1
Although the questionnaire gave residents the option for rating their preferences on a scale, most replies didn't bother to do this, evidently because the option to do nothing was so strongly favored.

- Kira Lueders, PRA President

Let's Clean Up Our Park!

What:When:Where:

Cleanup of Rock Creek park area adjoining Parkwood neighborhood
Saturday, April 21 anytime between 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Check-in station will be open at intersection of Saul & Parkwood.

Parkwood residents are invited to join in a cleanup of the Rock Creek Park area adjoining our neighborhood on the morning of April 21. Plastic bags, work gloves and trash removal will be provided by the County Parks Department as we remove the unsightly litter and other trash washed downstream during last June's torrential rains. We will clean wooded areas as well as along the paved trails.

Participants are encouraged to stop by to help any time during the event at a check-in station to be open all morning at the intersection of Saul Road and Parkwood Drive. Forms will be available for students interested in obtaining credit under the Student Service Learning hours program.

The PRA is joining with the Kensington Estates Civic Association and Cub Scout Pack 460 (which includes many children from K-P and Holy Redeemer elementary schools) to support the event. Boy scouts from troops 439 and 8 and area Girl Scouts will also help.

Kindergarten Orientation April 23 and 24: If you have a child who will be 5 years old by September 1, 2007 and are thinking about attending KPES, call 301-571-6949 to reserve a space at this orientation session and receive an information packet. Montgomery County Public Schools encourages you to register for the fall as soon as possible - even if you are undecided about attending the school - because teacher allocation is based on enrollment numbers estimated before the end of the school year.

Italian Immersion: On February 2nd, the KPES Principal sent a notice home to all parents that he will not be applying for an Italian Immersion program for the 2007-2008 school year. The PRA has requested that the principal communicate any significant program changes so we can keep the Parkwood community informed.

CKC Update

The Coalition of Kensington Communities, of which the PRA does have a representative, reports the following activity since October 2006:

Testified at the County Council in support of ZTA 03-06 which proposed a building moratorium from December 2006 until August 2007 to allow Park and Planning and County officials to update the annual growth policy to study the level of infrastructure (traffic capacity, schools, police/fire safety, libraries, indoor & outdoor recreational space, social services) to support the existing development as well as approved development in the pipelineResult: Bill failed to pass by one vote. Voting in favor: Phil Andrews (District 3), Marilyn Praisner (District 4), Duchy Trachtenberg (At Large), Marc Elrich (At Large). Voting against: Valerie Ervin (District 5 – which includes Kensington), Roger Berliner (District 1 – which includes Bethesda), Nancy Floreen (At Large), George Leventhal (At Large), Michael Knapp (Distict 2).

Met with Royce Hanson, new Chairman of the Planning Board to introduce CKC’s goals and perspective, discuss the Kensington Sector Plan process and get a better understanding of how to more effectively participate in the development process. This meeting resulted in a request that Park and Planning develop a system in which a pre-application meeting is mandatory with the developer, the community and Park and Planning staff. The current policy is for the developer to meet with the community. CKC representatives have found this current approach results in misinformation and miscommunication with regard to zoning and other land use issues.

Spoke with county budget representatives from the County Executive’s office about the lack of county funding to match the state funding obtained in 2003 for planning and design of a Kensington Community Center.

Wrote to the representatives handling the expansion at the Bethesda Naval Hospital requesting that the on-site parking portion of the new development not be built until after traffic mitigation for the intersection of Rockville Pike and Cedar Lane be developed, funded and built.

SAVE THE DATE - Wednesday, March 21, in the evening at the Kensington Town Hall - the kickoff meeting of the Kensington Sector Plan! The Coalition of Kensington Communities (CKC), the Town of Kensington, and Fred Boyd of Maryland National Parks & Planning are coordinating this and future meetings. Have a say in the future of Kensington - attend this meeting!!! Watch the PRA listserv for updates.

Have a New Neighbor?

The PRA is looking for ways to reach out to newcomers in the neighborhood. A PRA welcome packet has been developed and Welcome Committee Chair Kathy Byars and PRA Block Captains have been diligently passing our packets out. If you would like to welcome a new neighbor or have Kathy or one of her volunteers drop off a packet, please contact her at (301)530-9441 or send an email to: kathybyars@mris.com.

Neighbors Share Information via the PRA Listserv
This e-mail group, more than 300 members strong, is open to all residents of Parkwood, and a great way to share information, such as home improvement contractors or petty vandalism affecting our neighborhood. To subscribe, send a blank message to: parkwoodresidents-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. You will receive a confirmation message when you are subscribed. Do not write anything in the subject or body of the message. It will not be seen by anyone and you will not get a response. This listserv can save the PRA funds and make Parkwood a safer place to live! Sign on to the list serve and get your neighbor to as well!

Have You Paid Your 2007 PRA Membership Dues?

Good news… we have over 300 households signed up for our free Listserv. Bad news… our paid membership is down this year! Yet all households, whether members or not, receive this newsletter free during the year, and all are invited to join the listserv at no charge. Further, your PRA officers and members are hard at work protecting your interests and advocating for Parkwood. Please support our efforts for a modest $10 a year. Those funds are used to defray costs, pay for beautification efforts, support the newsletter, and much more. Please consider joining for 2007!